Clayton Makepeace’s Power Marketing Summit 2006 SCRAPBOOK PLUS The Three Most Valuable Lessons I Have Ever Learned

It’s been a little over two weeks since our first Power Marketing Summit ended and my mind is still reeling … my heart is still warmed … and Wendy and I still get all teary-eyed and blubbery when we talk about it.

The love we felt from every single attendee was palpable. The compliments for The Total Package and the “Thank Yous” for the Summit blew me away.

You couldn’t cut the mutual admiration and respect in the room with a laser. Everyone – and I do mean EVERYONE – left their egos at the door.

A star-studded panel consisting of my good friends John Carlton, Parris Lampropoulos, Carline Anglade-Cole and Kent Komae helped me give some great response-boosting ideas and advice to growth-obsessed business owners in our Hot Seat session.

At the Thursday evening cocktail reception (and at every break), old friendships were renewed, new frendships forged, and deals were made that launched dozens of new copywriting careers – and that I’m sure will make many businesses grow like crazy in the year ahead.

The Friday evening Banquet was a blast. Harvey MacKay, the New York Times #1 Best-Selling Author of Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and three other #1 bestsellers, had us on the edge of our seats …

… I had the privilege of awarding $55,000 in copywriting assignments to Copywriter’s Challenge First Place Winners John McCrea and Andrew Owen – and to our Grand Prize Winner John Newtson …

… And I had the pleasure of awarding $150,000 in direct mail and website makovers to our Marketing Challenge First Place Winners Lee Bellinger (Independent Living Over 50), and Mark Kwasny, Paul Elliott and Beirne White (Motley Fool) – and to our Grand Prize Winner Jack Barber (Waterwise).

For my part, I yammered on for 2 ½ days straight, presenting nearly 400 PowerPoint pages, each one illustrating one, ten, up to 17 direct response techniques that have made me rich and my clients richer.

And through the entire event, The Redhead and her staff made sure everything went off without a hitch.

At noon on Saturday as I began to thank everyone for making it a greater success than I could have possibly dreamed, (and got all choked up in the process), I was treated to the first and only standing ovation of my entire life.

Afterwards, the accolades just kept on coming …

“Worth TEN TIMES the Money”

"Was it worth traveling 4,000 miles (from London) and paying $9,000 to $10,000 (for the seminar, flight, food and hotel) to attend?"

“I'd say it was worth at least ten times that amount, maybe more."

“The sessions were better than any I'd ever seen before. The networking opportunities were priceless. My Hotseat 'grilling' was invaluable. The goody bag of useful books, tapes and CDs was full to bursting. And the evening speech by Harvey Mackay was the icing on the cake."

“My advice: Do whatever it takes to get to any of Clayton's Seminars: Sell your car, house or kids, and get the money together, because this information is worth its weight in gold.”

– Nick Wrathall
Entrepreneur & Copywriter
London, England

“Sensational!”

“Great Job. It was certainly worth the plane ticket from Australia. I was shocked when I was handed Course manuals & a goody bag. I gladly paid the overweight luggage charges from the airline, to get these comprehensive volumes Home."

“The content was sensational I can't wait to put Clayton's tactics to work. My advice: Get in early for the next one, as all who attended have a giant advantage to double their incomes.”

– Rowan Shead
Sydney, Australia

“A Definite 10!”

“If I had to rate Clayton's Power Marketing Summit on a scale of 1 to 10, it's a definite 10!!!"

“To say that I got my money's worth from attending Clayton Makepeace's Power Marketing Summit would be a vast understatement. It was worth every penny and more!"

“The material presented was more in-depth than any I've seen, and the binder alone would have been worth $5,000."

“It was also worth the price of admission alone to not only reconnect with fellow copywriters as well as clients, but to meet so many fascinating new people."

“I will definitely plan to return to next year's summit. Meanwhile, I'm chomping at the bit to put all the great ideas I picked up to work to write ‘bigger winners, more often’.”

– Kim Schwalm
Copywriter
Germantown, MD

“This is the BEST marketing event,
BAR NONE, ever.”

“If I had one word to describe the power summit it would be ‘OVERDELIVERING!’"

"This is the BEST marketing event BAR NONE ever. It was run incredibly smoothly by "The Redhead" with an incredible smile the entire time, the goodie bag was overwhelming; the syllabus was top notch quality."

“Clayton was totally approachable and incredibly open and willing to share his experiences, the hottest contacts were made with the industry leaders and top copywriters and marketers."

“The asking price is so totally worth it. Don’t ask, ‘Can I afford to go?’ Ask: ‘Can I afford NOT to go?’"

“Without a doubt, sign up as soon as there are spots available! Just do it!”

“Wow. Wow. And Wow again.”

“I haven't stopped raving about it since I got back. I thought twice about going, because it wasn't cheap, and rarely does one of these events live up to its promises."

“But as a subscriber to The Total Package, I knew that Clayton always delivers quality information. So I really didn't dither too hard. I knew I'd get something out of it."

“Wow. Wow. And Wow again. I left with a boatload of high-level copywriting information, a fistful of solid, quality contacts, and an armload of marketing and copywriting goodies."

“In fact, I had to buy an extra suitcase to haul it all home. And I met and made great new friends. This was, hands down, the best investment of the year for me.”

– Collette Gillian
Copywriter
Salt Lake City, UT

“I’m Already Making Money From It”

“I recouped the bulk of my investment the day the seminar ended. I called up a client and we talked about the seminar. As a result, he asked if I could write two letters that he hasn't had time to write."

“I must also say that I was blown away by the quality of the ‘Goodie Bag.’ The information provided in it perfectly complements what I learned at the seminar."

“I'd recommend anyone who's serious about getting the best results from their sales material attend.”

– Rick Hanson
Copywriter
Ontario, Canada

“Already Making Me At Least $130,000 Richer!”

“I came out of the summit with $30,000 in immediate projects and I estimate that I will book a minimum of $100,000 in fees from the conference by the end of the year."

“My total cost for the summit was something around $7k – so I'm looking at over a 14-to-1 ROI."

“My expectations have been exceeded, and I thank you for the opportunity you presented. The hotel, food, and Total Package staff were also first rate. I appreciated having everything in one place.”

– Lea Pierce
Copywriter
Santa Rosa, CA

“The Best!”

“Clayton Makepeace takes the mystery out of copywriting and replaces the confusion with solid, workable, high performance methods presented in an easy to understand format!"

“Clayton is without a doubt the best teacher I have ever had. To my delight, he is a nice and ethical guy too!”

“Clayton OVER Delivered!”

“A first-rate start to finish – the whole thing can be summed up in two words "Over Deliver”, from the extra $1,000 in gifts in the Goodie Bag to the depth of Clayton's Presentations."

“I walked out of there with more practical, useable information than I've found anywhere else. Not to mention all the contacts and new friends I made.

The room was full of phenomenal people who, like Clayton himself, were very approachable and willing to share their knowledge and experience."

“A nod from Clayton and suddenly I feel like I have more opportunities than I could possibly follow up on. All in all, wouldn't miss next year's for the world!”

– John Newtson
Copywriter
Springfield, VA

“Real Assignments from Dream Clients!”

“As a solid intermediate-level copywriter, I came to learn and network. Clayton took the pace of my learning curve from Model-T Ford speed to rocket speed. My brain was ready to explode after day 1."

“I was also able to connect with prospective clients in a smaller, more intimate environment compared to many other conferences. I made solid connections that, one week later, are looking like they'll turn into real assignments for dream clients."

“Tremendous event. Don't miss it next year, y'all."

– Eileen Coale
Copywriter
Annapolis, MD

“The Best Experience EVER!”

“I went, got like 7 hrs of sleep the whole time and it was the best experience EVER."

”It was incredible. Incredible. The Goodie bag alone was overdeliver. I got three books on copywriting now! WOOT!"

”I have a feeling they're going to repeat this again next year. I only have one thing to say: “GO!”

– Caleb Osborne
Copywriter
Fredericksburg, VA

“Totally Free of B.S.”

“Rave. Rave. And Rave again. This seminar was everything Clayton promised and more."

”Clayton totally delivered the goods. He covered direct response copywriting in such meticulous detail that my head threatened to explode (but in a good way)."

“The content was so information-dense, people were afraid to leave the room to pee for fear they’d miss his next gem. (I know this from rest-room chit-chat!) Even a big-name copywriter across the aisle from me was typing so fast and furiously his fingers practically melted the keyboard."

”And speaking of big name copywriters – how do names like Stone, Carlton, Lampropoulos, Deutsch, Komae, and Cole grab ya? If you’re an aspiring six-figure copywriter they should grab ya pretty good."

”As for our Fearless Leader: Apart from being brilliant, Clayton Makepeace is utterly unassuming and totally free of BS. You couldn’t ask to spend time with a nicer and more knowledgeable guy. (I can even forgive him his NRA membership.)"

“And his wife, Wendy, ran the entire event from start to finish without a single hitch. As a former event manager I can tell you, my friends, that is NOT easy to pull off. And Wendy did it with effortless charm and a devastating smile the entire time. Definitely an impressive biker chick."

”When Clayton does this again, I will most definitely be going. I would highly recommend anyone who takes this profession seriously to do the same. It ain’t cheap, but it’s worth every battered, grubby, lint-covered penny under your sofa cushions."

“Stunning!”

“Pardon my use of superlatives, but the marketing summit in D.C. was a landmark experience for me. Again and again you pulled off the remarkable. Your meticulous articulation of the entire process of creating copy that busts unbridled winners loose was stunning."

“Once used, the 500 page swipe file is a reputation maker and money in the bank for me. Besides handing over the grist that will, with certainty, produce bigger winners more often for anyone who applies your methods, you and your organization 'does the community proud' as you represent us with unusual dignity."

“Overall, you demonstrate a gut-level commitment to developing wealthy writers. That’s admirable and I thank you for that. Bravo and well done!”

– Peter Stone
Copywriter
Minneapolis, MN

“OK, So Where’s The Valuable Money-Making CONTENT In This Week’s Issue?”

"I got your content right here: Three Great Lessons this whole experience has taught me – lessons that will bring you far more wealth and success than anything I’ve ever written or will ever write…"

Lesson #1:
Dare to Dream

If anything I ever say – any copywriting or business-building idea I ever give you – helps in any way, you have Carline Anglade-Cole to thank.

Several years ago, I agreed to help Carline become a copywriter. I copychiefed her on a few projects … kicked her out of the nest … and she went on to make herself one of the five or six highest-paid copywriters on the planet with a gazillion big controls under her belt.

Two years ago, in my suite at a Washington DC hotel, Carline told Wendy (“The Redhead”) and me how much my help meant to her – and promptly melted my heart.

To my surprise, I suddenly realized that the satisfaction I’d received from the money I’d made, and the companies I’d helped explode in size positively paled in comparison to the reward of helping others realize their dreams.

It was Carline who then suggested that I publish an e-letter and do conferences to help others. The Total Package and Power Marketing Summit are her babies.

For me, the thought of creating all this was massively intimidating. I’d spent my whole life in the trenches, writing copy and building businesses. I’d never had to promote myself. When you write winners, word gets around.

It took me a whole year to publish the first issue of The Total Package and seven more months to agree to host a live event. I’ve wanted to quit a million times in the last two years. But the dream of creating something that would really help people kept me going.

Every great success begins with a dream. Without the dream Carline implanted in my brain two years ago, none of this would ever have happened.

What’s your dream? Write it down. Take a picture of it. Tape them to your computer monitor. Always keep it before you.

Be relentless in your pursuit of it – and one day you’ll discover as I just have, that reality can be far sweeter than any dream.

Lesson #2:
Be a Bumble Bee

Aerodynamic experts will tell you that, given its large body and tiny wings, it is physically impossible for a bumble bee to fly. But, being woefully ignorant of this fact, the bee flies anyway.

Last November, folks in the conference business told Wendy (The Redhead), Makepeace that she couldn’t plan a major event like our Power Marketing Summit alone … that if she tried, the whole thing would be a massive disaster.

But being woefully ignorant of the fact that she couldn’t accomplish such a mind-blowing feat, she did it anyway. Perfectly. Graciously. Spectacularly.

Be a bumble bee.

Last December, Wendy and I had to sign a binding contract committing more than $100,000 of our own money just to lock in the hotel for our Power Marketing Summit. Had we failed, it would have cost us a king’s ransom.

But being woefully ignorant of the fact that failure was possible, we signed our names and went to work.

Be a bumble bee.

The fact that you can think of a million reasons why you’ll fail is meaningless. Be intentionally ignorant of those “facts” – be a bumble bee and do it anyway.

Lesson #3:
Treasure Friendship

Now that the first annual Power Marketing Summit is in the history books, those of us who were there share a special bond that can never be broken.

Each of us shares memories of 2 ½ brief days when great ideas were openly shared, exciting new careers were launched and explosive growth was sparked at many companies.

More importantly, we have the shared memory of 60 hours in which fun was had and many new lifelong friendships were born.

I personally got to hug friends I hadn’t seen and had rarely talked to in five or ten years. Janie Thompson of Carnegie Marketing was a close personal friend in 1978 – when she got her start in direct marketing. It was a thrill seeing her after 27 long years.

There will be other gatherings of top marketers and growth-obsessed business owners. There will be other Power Marketing Summits. But there will never be another first one.

If you were lucky enough to have been there, treasure the memory. Cherish these new friendships. Keep them strong, healthy, alive and productive.